Amit Shah throws gauntlet at Rahul Gandhi on corporate loan waiver

To a question on GST, Shah said "There are GST problems, but it is not permanent. GST Council, which meets regularly, is solving the problems. It will continue to do so," he added. Addressing problems of SMSEs and MSMEs is BJP's top priority, he said.

BJP President Amit Shah today challenged Congress chief Rahul Gandhi to make public if the BJP government has waived the loans of any one industrialist, instead of "misleading" the country.

"I was listening to the speeches of Rahul Gandhi here (during election campaigns). He keeps on saying, Modi government does not waive farmers' loans, but waives that of industrialists," Shah said in an interaction with trade and industry leaders here. Challenging Gandhi, he said "if the Narendra Modi government has waived any one industrialist's loan, let him make it public, instead of misleading the country."

Shah said the AICC president does not know the difference between loan waiver and non-performing assets.

"Because of this (lack of understanding), he is misleading the country ... If he could pronounce the name of Visvesvaraya that would be good enough," he said.

Shah was apparently referring to Gandhi reportedly mispronouncing the name of Bharat Ratna Visvesvaraya, a renowned engineer, while campaigning in Karnataka.

To a question on GST, Shah said "There are GST problems, but it is not permanent. GST Council, which meets regularly, is solving the problems. It will continue to do so," he added. Addressing problems of SMSEs and MSMEs is BJP's top priority, he said.

On Gandhi's Gabbar Singh Tax jibe, Shah advised the Congress President not to describe GST in that manner because it is being used to build toilets, strengthen border security and sending satellites into space, among other things.

""We have been in the opposition for a long time, but we"haven't used such a language in our entire public life. It is"the language of NGOs, not of political leaders...can anyone call GST as loot money or Gabbar Singh Tax?" he added.

He also said all decisions on GST were taken unanimously by the GST Council, in which three Congress ministers take part during meetings.

""Therefore, I want to tell Rahul Gandhi, whether his own chief ministers or finance ministers who participate in GST Council, do not agree with him over GST?" he asked.

On criticism about Modi's foreign visits, he said, "Many criticise Modiji's foreign visits, but I want to tell you assisted with facts and figures, that Manmohan Singh has" made more foreign trips than Modi," he said.

The only difference is when Manmohan Singh visited foreign"countries, "nobody knew about it, but Modi's visits are" high-decibel and noticeable," he said.